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The WWE career of Lars Sullivan going by so quickly makes it easy to overlook how weird his situation was. Sullivan had a lot of expectations and reported huge plans for his future on the main roster. Triple H signed Lars to NXT, and Vince McMahon seemed set on making him a star with vignettes hyping him up.
Things played out the exact opposite for Sullivan, with him having the worst possible run and a controversial exit. Negative stories and moments for Lars caused all momentum to be lost. WWE ended up quitting on and agreeing to release Sullivan before he made any impact. A deeper look is warranted to figure out what caused such a dramatic departure for Lars.
Lars Sullivan Had Huge Hype For A Main Event Push In WWE
The hype for Lars Sullivan started with his NXT push seeing him often dominating his opponents. Sullivan was the rare NXT prospect that both Triple H and Vince McMahon agreed on as having star potential. Triple H protected Lars with the perfect mix of having decisive victories in singles bouts and facing bigger names in multi-man matches.
The still beloved five-star ladder match to crown the first North American Champion saw Sullivan getting to work with names like Adam Cole, Ricochet, and Killian Dain. Cole winning was the right call, but Lars proving he could hang was a big deal. NXT also saw Sullivan having an underrated program with Aleister Black and stepping up against the main eventer for the yellow brand.
All this culminated in Lars getting scheduled to join the main roster in early 2019. WWE spent months building up vignettes for Sullivan by presenting him as an unbeatable monster. Lars’ massive size and his giant hands were already a few things to make him stand out to new viewers. However, it was the importance depicted for his debut that started the hype.
Controversy Doomed Lars Sullivan's Run In WWE
The start of Lars Sullivan’s main roster run was rumored to see him have a big program with John Cena and a hopeful feud with Brock Lesnar down the line. WWE advertising Sullivan to debut on the January 14th episode of Raw ended up not happening due to personal issues. Sullivan dealing with severe anxiety issues saw him struggling to get inside the venue and WWE canceling those plans for his debut.
WWE postponed Lars joining the program a few more months to miss WrestleMania 35, which rumored to be the night he could have faced Cena. The changes saw Cena cutting a freestyle rap before destroying Elias, and Sullivan debuting the following night. Lars’ first night featured him attacking Kurt Angle after the legend retired to send him off television.
WWE still showed a lot of faith in Sullivan by having him destroy legends like the Hardy Boyz and Rey Mysterio after interrupting them. This was around the time a lot of controversy started when fans saw a lot of Lars’ old social media and forum posts. Sullivan made countless racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks, including insulting comments about some wrestlers. WWE had to navigate pushing Lars while he trended on social media often for all the wrong reasons.
Lars Sullivan Asked WWE For His Release
The plan for a massive Lars Sullivan push and rumors of working with big names slowed down after the controversy started, but he was still getting a good introduction. Sullivan destroyed the Lucha House Party in three vs one handicap matches multiple times to show his strength. WWE fans were being conditioned to view Lars as a big deal, but an injury came right as he was getting this push.
Sullivan was on the shelf for six to nine months due to a knee injury to lose all steam. WWE tired to bring Lars back in a relevant manner by attacking noteworthy names like Matt Riddle, The Miz, and Jeff Hardy, but the fan interest was not there. WWE had Sullivan win his first match back, squashing Shorty G, but it ended up being the final match of his career. Lars was quietly removed from WWE television and released a few months later in early 2021.
The story eventually leaked that Sullivan continued to deal with severe anxiety and asked to be released. WWE was already going hot and cold with Lars after his problematic comments from the past leaked out. All the variables made it a tougher road for someone that was once viewed as having the perfect map to success. WWE went from pushing Sullivan as a hopeful threat to Brock Lesnar to releasing him to end his wrestling career.